Belton is a rural locality in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, located in the

District Council of Orroroo Carrieton The District Council of Orroroo Carrieton is a local government area in the Yorke and Mid North region of South Australia. The principal towns are Orroroo and Carrieton; it also includes the localities of Belton, Black Rock, Coomooroo, Ers ...

. It is traversed by the Carrieton-Barata Road, the Carrieton-Belton Road and the Weira Creek. The locality was established on 26 April 2013 in respect to “the long established local name.”

History

The European settlement of the area which now forms the modern locality of Belton was first formalised as three cadastral hundreds when the area was opened up for pastoral purposes: the Hundred of Eurilpa, the Hundred of McCulloch, and the Hundred of Bendleby. The Hundred of Eurilpa and the Hundred of Bendleby were proclaimed in January 1877 by Governor

Anthony Musgrave Sir Anthony Musgrave (31 August 1828 – 9 October 1888) was a colonial administrator and governor. He died in office as Governor of Queensland in 1888. Early life He was born at St John's, Antigua, the third of 11 children of Anthony Musgr ...

, followed by the Hundred of McCulloch in February 1886 by Governor William C. F. Robinson, named for state MP

Alexander McCulloch Alexander McCulloch (25 October 1887 – 5 September 1951) was a British rower who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. Biography McCulloch was born at Melbourne, Australia, the son of George McCulloch. His father, who was born in Scotland, m ...

. The latter two hundreds remained almost entirely pastoral, although a Bendleby Post Office opened on 17 February 1891 and closed on 22 May 1919. A former unbounded locality in the Hundred of Eurilpa, Uroonda, also now lies within the boundaries of Belton. Uroonda Post Office opened on 1 April 1883 and closed around 1908. The government town of Belton was proclaimed in 1882 by Governor

William Jervois Lieutenant General Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois (10 September 1821 – 17 August 1897) was a British military engineer and diplomat. After joining the British Army in 1839, he saw service, as a second captain, in South Africa. In 18 ...

in the Hundred of Eurilpa. A school opened in 1886, but closed a short time after; a provisional school opened again in 1889; it too later closed. The town had a branch of the South Australian Farmers Association from 1885 to 1887. Drought was a perennial problem, as the town lies north of

Goyder's Line Goyder's Line is a line that runs roughly east–west across South Australia and, in effect, joins places with an average annual rainfall of . North of Goyder's Line, annual rainfall is usually too low to support cropping, with the land being sui ...

. Belton Post Office opened on 1 April 1883, provisionally closed on 31 December 1968, and closed permanently on 31 March 1969. The town also possessed a store for a number of years. The locality of Belton includes the site of the government town of Cobham which was proclaimed on 1 February 1883 and which was cancelled on 8 July 1915.

References

{{authority control Towns in South Australia